Mindray Medical Trades New 52-Week High

By Ben Levisohn

Chinese medical-device maker Mindray Medical International (MR) has jumped 2.8% today to $36.35-and also touched a new 52-week high.

On Jan. 7, Mindray’s announced that it would report $1.06 billion in revenue in 2012–in line with analyst expectations–and that revenues would grow by 17% in 2013, again in line with analyst forecasts. That alleviated some concerns that the company would report slowing growth in 2013 and helped shares push higher.

The company has also been upgraded by the likes of Merrill Lynch and Goldman Sachs so far in January–and now Oppenheimer’s Ingrid Yin has weighed in on Mindray. She says 2013 will be about emerging markets–but the company could benefit as developed-market nations look for cheaper alternatives for pricey medical devices. She writes:

In 2013, we anticipate MR’s growth will mostly come from China and other emerging markets. The robust underlying market demand for new installations in all emerging countries is evident, further enhanced by government supports…In the long run, we believe US market spending will become more rational, with more focus on functionality at the right price, which could benefit MR. However, since developed countries are replacement markets, we expect those changes to happen gradually as MR takes market share from competitors.

Yin raised her 2013 estimate to $2.14 from $2.03 and maintained an outperform on the stock because it trades at a discount to international peers.

About Emerging Markets Daily

Emerging markets have been synonymous with growth, but the outlook for individual nations is constantly changing. Countries from Brazil and Russia to Turkey face challenges including infrastructure bottlenecks, credit issues and political shifts. The Barrons.com Emerging Markets Daily blog analyzes news, data and research out of emerging markets beyond Asia to help readers navigate the investment landscape.

Barron’s veteran Dimitra DeFotis has been blogging about emerging market investing since traveling to India and Turkey. Based in New York, she previously wrote for Barron’s about U.S. equity investing, including cover stories and roundtables on energy themes. Dimitra was among the first digital journalists at the Chicago Tribune and started her career as a police reporter at the Daily Herald in the Chicago suburbs. Dimitra holds degrees from the University of Illinois and Columbia University, where she was a Knight-Bagehot Fellow in the business and journalism schools.